What is your final authority in life? Before you answer too quickly, think about it for a few moments. When you’re cornered, when you’re facing an intimidating obstacle, when you’re forced to deal with reality, upon whom or what do you lean? There can be no more reliable authority on earth than God’s Word, the […]
Read MoreTag Archives: First Thessalonians
The Problem With Prayer
For many, there appears to be a problem with prayer. “It’s a one-way conversation.” “It doesn’t seem to work.” “God takes too long to answer.” “God does what He wants anyway.” Crushed between the mortar and pestle of life, it’s easy to think there’s a serious problem with prayer: God. When God doesn’t answer according […]
Read MoreHelping Men Who Are Addicted to Internet Sex: For Pastors
Scripture to reference: Galatians 6:1; 1 Thessalonians 4:3–5; 2 Timothy 2:2; 1 John 1:9 “Pastor, I need to speak with you.” “Of course,” you reply to the man on the phone and set a time to meet that afternoon. It’s one of your leaders at the church, Sam. Later, when he arrives at your office, […]
Read MoreMoral Purity
Holiness sounds scary. It need not be, but to the average person it is. Our tendency is to think that holiness would never find its way into the office of a salesperson—certainly not that of an aggressive and successful athletics coach. Nor would a mother of small children be that concerned about holiness, nor a […]
Read MoreTenderness
When I was just a kid, I got a bellyache that wouldn’t go away. It hurt so bad I couldn’t stand up straight or sit down without increasing the pain. Finally, my folks hauled me over to a big house in Houston, Texas where a surgeon lived. He had turned the back section of his […]
Read MoreThe Rapture: The Next Event on God’s Calendar
When we put our trust in Jesus Christ, we transfer from the road to Armageddon to the road to Glory. The wonderful fact is that Christ is going to come one of these days, perhaps very soon, and take His church out of the world and to heaven before the road to Armageddon comes to […]
Read MoreChrist’s Return
The other evening my wife and I were enjoying a quiet conversation together. We were sipping some fresh-perked coffee, the house was unusually still, and there were no plans to go anywhere that evening. It was one of those cherished moments you wish you could wrap up and reserve for later use when it’s really […]
Read MoreWhat the Bible Says about Lust
What the Bible Says about Lust God’s Word speaks to the depths of our sensual desire. Moral compromise is challenged by the truth of God’s unwavering standard of holiness. The Bible offers words of wisdom and instruction, prompting us to trust God for our deliverance from worldly desire. The following passages reveal the destructive power […]
Read MoreAwake beyond the Grave: What the Bible Says about Soul Sleep
Death raises many questions: When will it happen? What will it be like? What is the soul’s destiny? Chuck Swindoll addresses that last question in Growing Deep in the Christian Life: When the believer dies, the body goes into the grave; the soul and spirit go immediately to be with the Lord Jesus awaiting the […]
Read MoreIs God Really in Control?
Do you ever find yourself wondering, “Does God really have things in hand here, or is my life spinning out of control?” I have. Trusting in Jesus Christ at age 18, I soon concluded that if I simply did enough of the right things, my Christian life would be a steady climb toward maturity. Numerous […]
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